EFCC Arrests Fugitive Ex-Power Minister Saleh Mamman in Kaduna Dawn Raid After In-Absentia Conviction

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operatives tracked and arrested former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman in a 3:30 a.m. pre-dawn raid in the Rigasa area of Kaduna State, apprehending him before he could flee. Mamman had been sentenced in absentia on May 13, 2026, to 75 years in prison on 12 counts of money laundering and fraud — specifically the diversion of ₦33.8 billion from the Mambilla Hydro Power Project and the Zungeru Hydropower Plant. Two individuals sheltering Mamman were also arrested. EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede held a press conference at EFCC headquarters in Abuja confirming the arrest and declaring the case a landmark in anti-corruption enforcement. The arrest followed the same week as the earlier conviction of another former minister in what analysts described as a rare 'accountability moment' for Nigeria's chronically impunity-plagued public service. The Mambilla project — envisaged as Africa's largest hydropower plant — has been under contract since 2003 without significant progress, at a project cost that has ballooned from $3 billion to over $5 billion.